Never Fall Out
by nes303
Summary: He's attracted to her the second he set his eyes on her, and she didn't know why there were butterflies in her stomach every time his name is mentioned. FLW/Charon
1. Ch1: Escape!

Chapter 1: Escape!

"Damn it Euryleia, wake up!"

Groggily, I opened my eyes. Amata looked frantic. Now I'm really going to kill Tunnel Snakes. That Butch never stopped bothering Amata, he hated her because her father was the Overseer of the Vault. But being an Overseer daughter, couldn't she at least lift a finger to defend herself? Do I always have to save her ass? The only sharp thing that she would wield was her tongue. She had always treated me bad but I knew deep down, she actually cared. Nonetheless, I can't help feeling irritated by her bossiness at times that I even considered shoving her beloved teddy bear collections down her throat to shut her up. Then again I have to put up with Dad's infamous lectures, saying mum would not be proud, yadda yadda. Ah, mum. Everyone in the Vault thought highly of her, I wished I had known her. The only thing Dad had ever told me was that Mum died after giving birth to me. She was my angel; she forfeited her own life for me. Mum was not Dad's favorite subject, I can still see longing in his eyes, even after these years. Her death affected him deeply.

"Euryleia!" Amata's piercing voice snapped me back into reality.

"Whatever it is, it better be good Amata." I said, irately.

"Oh I don't think this is good at all." Amata folded her hands to her chest. "James has left the Vault. Jonas is dead. My father has decreed that you should be found at any rate. He thought that you're responsible for his leaving. So you, you should leave too. NOW!" She yanked me off the bed. I felt my blood boiled. Jonas's dead? I have always thought that the Overseer was cunning, but hell was I wrong. He was heartless old bastard.

"Here, take this. You might need it." Amata handed me a 10mm pistol. Where the fuck did she get..

"This is not the time to interrogate me, dumbass. Meet me at the Overseer's office." She pushed the pistol to my hand and started to leave. I shook my head and pulled her hand,

"No, you might need this too. I'm quite good albeit unarmed, you know." I smiled. It was the truth, I was fairly skilled using my fists, thanks to the training I received from saving her ass from Butch numerous times.

She rushed outside and we parted ways.

Upon leaving the room, I ran into Officer Kendall. He was one of the old bastard's lap dogs. He commanded me to stop. I was ready to attack when he yelled something about roaches. Turning back to face him, I saw three big roaches and Officer Kendall was beating them with his police baton. Thankful, I took the chance to flee. I was heading left when I heard Butch's urgent voice. They said curiosity killed the cat, and in my case, roaches. Apparently, Butch's mother was trapped in the room with the bloody roaches and Butch asked me to help her. I hated him but I was raised well enough not to leave poor people in need of a hand, no matter how bad they were in the past. It took her mother to be trapped with roaches to show Butch's true character. He was not as immoral as he appeared to be. He asked me, ME, of all people, to help his mother! For Butch to ask for help was like waiting for hell to cool off. He picked his mother's life over his stupid pride. He even thanked me and gave me his Tunnel Snakes outfit. The next lap dog I ran into was Officer.. Oh no, Officer Gomez was no lap dog. He was one of Dad's true friendsOfficer Gomez was all about loyalty, that I knew for sure. It must be hard for him to be caught in the middle, it was either dishonoring Dad or the Overseer. Out of his respect for Dad, he chose to let me go free.

After a few confrontations with some lap dogs, I made it close to the Overseer office without spilling buckets of blood. I overheard Amata was interrogated by his dad and Mack in a room about my whereabouts. I planned to enter and save Amata, maybe for the last time before I left the Vault for good, when I heard gunshot. Amata shot Mack and ran! Holy hell, she defended herself! Regardless, the wound probably could kill him but still, it's about damn time. The Overseer noticed me and tried to stop me but I had another thing on my mind. I went to Dad's office and found Jonas's body so I checked it. I found a holotape containing a message pertaining to Dad's leaving. Overseer caught me here and attempted to attack me. I did not want to hurt him but he sure knew how to push the buttons. He said that Dad left because he couldn't bear to look into my face, a face that had caused his beloved's death. That's it! I took out a police baton I pick pocketed from one of his lap dogs earlier and started hitting him. Amata's pleading eyes were the only reason I stopped. I had lost my father and I couldn't be the reason for someone else's lost too. I faced the Overseer and threatened to hurt Amata if he refused to give me his keys. After dodging few bullets, I finally reached the door. Amata said her goodbyes to me and I can't help but hug her. Sure she was a bitch but I still love her. I knew the feeling was mutual too. She thanked me for sparing her father, and gave me some bobby pins. I walked forward, knowing that my life will never be the same after I stepped out of the door. My decision was final, I had to find Dad. 


	2. Ch2: Way Back Home

Chapter 2: Way Back Home

I lied down on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I felt weird.. Different.

Just five days ago, my hobby was still reading. Grandma Taylor (I found her dead body when I went to look for her to say my goodbye before leaving the Vault, very good to me she was, God rest her soul) had this amazing pre-war book collection and even shared it with me. I had obtained amongst them many pre-war weapon schematics which I had spent most of my time studying. Just five days ago, the knowledge I had acquired about bombs seemed pointless, but then again, there was no live atomic bomb in the heart of the vault. However, the first town I reached, which I would think a small metal disposal site if it wasn't for the Protectron acting like a receptionist, did. Funny thing was, even though one false move could destroy the whole town, probably even more, there were people who worshipped it. I then utilized my no longer pointless knowledge to disarm the bomb. Alas, this attentive deed of mine had both good and bad outcome. The good was that the town's Sheriff, Lucas Simms granted me an empty shack, thus made this town, Megaton, my new official home. The shack has two small rooms, a sitting room, a small kitchen and a robot named Wadsworth. The sitting room has two lockers, which I used to store my items and outfits. It was nice. The bad was that Mr Burke, a chap I met in Moriarty's Saloon, offered me to rigged the bomb and annihilate Megaton. He was not pleased to learn that I had disarmed the bomb, which shattered his boss, Alistair Tenpenny's wish.

Just five days ago, I was an innocent girl, who thought that everyone was born in the vault, just like the Overseer said, before Moriarty, the owner of the same Moriarty's Saloon I had mentioned earlier, popped my bubble. He informed me that I wasn't born in the vault and my parents were not original vault dweller either. Just five days ago, I wouldn't touch any alcoholic drink in attempt to forget my sorrow, but then again, I didn't know that my own dad, whom I held the utmost respect for, whom I loved more than anything else in this world, had lied to me for my entire life. I befriended Gob the bartender, whom I learnt later was a ghoul, and Nova, a hooker. Then I learnt from Three Dog, a disc-jockey from Gob's favorite radio station, that ghouls were unfortunate humans who have been exposed to an ungodly amount of radiation. Apparently, ghouls were often harassed by 'normal' humans because of their looks. Smoothskins, as Gob put it, used to call his kind as brain-eating zombies and the way Gob was tensed when Moriarty walked pass us had convinced me that the Irish man had abused him too. I was drunk and rather furious, so I had decided to channel it to Moriarty. I remembered flirting (did I mention that I was a quick learner? Yeah, I learnt how to flirt from watching Nova) with him, waiting for him to touch me, and when he did, with a swift movement, I twisted his hand and shoved his face to the bar. I kept his hands locked on his back and with absolute grave tone I could muster while inebriated, I whispered to his ear,

"My dear Moriarty, I don't fucking care if Gob's yours, but from this day forward, you will not lay a filthy finger of yours on him, or you'll answer to me. If you think you can try to take me out, be my guest. But keep in mind that I am no longer a tiny harmless baby, and if I'm capable of neutralizing a bomb way bigger than your head, you should spend your nights thinking what else am I capable of."

He nodded frantically and when I released him, he scurried out. I knew everyone in the room was taken aback with my sudden outburst but none had objected because Nova heard what I said to Moriarty and explained to them. Sheriff Simms even chuckled and patted my back. Gob thanked me profusely and after I told him that Moriarty held back information about Dad, he turned his eyes closed when I hacked into Moriarty's terminal.

Just five days ago, I could beat the Tunnel Snakes with only my fists, not weapons. Sure I found amusement in shooting those damn roaches, but it was only using my BB guns. Just five days ago, harming a fellow human was a taboo to me, but then again, I didn't have a bull's eye painted on my back. Remember the Burke guy I mentioned? Yeah, I didn't report him to prevent his sorry ass kicked by Sheriff Simms, and he thanked me by hiring those assholes from Talon Company to hunt me down. Luckily, I was adapting pretty well, so when they first ambushed me, my accuracy was pretty deadly. Now, instead of my crappy jumpsuit, I had a decent armor to wear. I was somewhat engulfed with guilt for killing a man but Gob said it had to be done, that it was me or them. Gradually, it felt natural to me. I didn't tremble when I face the baddies, and with my accuracy, I felt sorry for those who provoked me. Oh, and in all honesty, when heads exploded, it was actually a sight to behold.

Just five days ago, everything was provided by the Overseer, we only work because it was one's responsibility. Out here in the Wasteland, I had to do errands for people to earn caps, a currency they apparently used. Just five days ago, I didn't have to worry about caps, but then again, I didn't have to worry about stocking up ammo to find my lost Dad. Moira Brown, a trader in Megaton, had convinced me to do some research for this book she was writing. She called it Wasteland Survival Guide, but after I had done one chapter, How To Get Killed In Less Than 60 Seconds For Dummies would make the most excellent title. First part of the chapter, she wanted me to find some food and medicines in Super-Duper Mart, which was quite easy because the raiders there were mostly amateur. I had sustained some injuries but none were fatal. The second part was to contract radiation sickness because she wanted to test her own rad-cure concoction. The result came out okay except for the part where I now have a "teeny-tiny" benign mutation. I was hysterical at first but after she explained, that my crippled limbs would automatically regenerate when I suffer from advanced radiation poisoning, I guess it save me some stimpaks. And last part of chapter one, she wanted me to travel to a minefield to, of course, retrieve a mine. The idea alone sounded horrific, but she convinced me that no one ever goes there because it's a ghost town so I can focus on the mines. Not only had I crippled some limbs, there was a sniper waiting there too. It took me a sniper aiming for my head to realize that this book will eventually get me killed. So I put a stop to it, there were no best survival guide other than to stay the hell away from trouble. Then there was Lucy West. She requested me to deliver a letter to her family in Arefu. Initially, I was expecting caps but she was so worried about her parents, so it was just not nice to ask. I helped her just to put her mind at ease. Her parents were dead when I got there. Evan King, protector of Arefu, presumed that Ian West, Lucy's brother had been kidnapped by a gang named The Family. Needed to deliver the letter, I tracked them down. After having some talk with Vance, the leader, I found out that they were a bunch of self-proclaimed vampires who argued that their actions were not cannibalism, merely for nourishment. It turned out that Ian West was actually responsible for his parents' death. I convinced Vance to let Ian go and I even made a deal on behalf of Arefu. That was Arefu will donate blood to The Family and they will protect them in return. Fair enough.

I've never thought that I would do any of those things I've done, but I've never dreamt of Dad's leaving either. Life before these past five days was unquestionably boring but it was way better than perilous world out here. Sighing, I got up and went to put in my armor. There's no point of looking back now. I'm going to find Dad, convince him to live with me here in Megaton and.. okay, find first, then plan. Now, where I'm going to find him? Oh right, speak to Three Dogs. He might know. I put everything I might need on my pack and headed to Moriarty's. Every time before I go out, I would let Gob know and tell him not to worry. Nova and Simms bode me goodbye and wished me safe too.


	3. Ch3: Tourist vs Knuckle Daggers?

A/N: Last chapter was kind of a recap. I need to speed things up, because life without Charon is **BORING**.

So here.

**Chapter 3: Tourist vs Knuckle Draggers?**

I was wandering around Sewer Waystation when a kid approached me. He was in terror and asked me to search for his dad. The town where he came from was called Grayditch, and I had to fight ants. Did I mention the ants were big and breathe fire? I had to help that poor kid, Bryan Wilks, as I can relate to him. His dad was killed by the Fire Ants, and I was looking for my lost Dad. I understood that these ants were the result of an experiment carried by a psycho scientist, Dr Lesko. Apparently, he was attempting to return giant ants to their normal size through genetic manipulation and accidentally created the fire ants. He started to blabber about sacrifices are inevitable for the greater goods when I told him that he should be responsible for Bryan s lost. I promised Bryan that I would stop the ants from burning Grayditch to the ground, and Dr Psycho suggested that the only way was to clear the path to his laboratory so he could make the ants to kill each other. I had to exterminate all the Fire Ant Nest Protectors and boy, were they tough! I did this not because I wanted to encourage Dr Psycho in whatever science experiments he has on his freaky mind, but for Bryan and for Mr Wilks so that he didn't die for naught. From the looks of things, I think Bryan was the sole survivor and I couldn't leave the poor child on his own. Bryan told me that he has a relative residing in a big ship, wherever it is. The Fire Ants had practically driven the raiders out of Grayditch and now that I had stopped the creepy-crawlies, I figured that the house might be a safe place for him at the moment so I left Bryan after promising him that I will be back as soon as I discover the big ship.

* * *

I ducked beside an abandoned car, waiting for the skirmish to end. I wanted to help but I had nearly used all my ammo. Besides, if the guys wore nice armors and wield big weapons, they sure can handle four huge things that only equipped with sledgehammers and assault rifles, right? Once the last green creature lifelessly hit the ground, I approached the female. Sentinel Lyons, or Sarah Lyons her name was, said that they were too heading to GNR Building. She was apparently a commander of Lyons Pride, from the Brotherhood of Steel, whatever that is, and told me that the green creature was called Super Mutant. Sarah was a little bit cocky, calling me outsider and all. She even warned me to keep my head down and try not to do anything stupid. Hey, I came out of the underground haven and learn to survive, all by myself, in less than a month, thank you very much. I may not wear polished armor and carry a sophisticated weapon like hers, but I will not live to this day if I were stupid. Okay, maybe I am naïve, but I am not stupid. Ugh!

We headed to what was left of a building, just before GNR Building. I just want to talk to Three Dog about my dad and leave, but that was clearly not an option since the mutants kept firing at me too. Thank God I had obtained several assault rifles and ammo from the first wave. Once we wiped out the mutants, Sarah leant on a decrepit bench and Paladin Vargas went to loot some ammo from the mutants' bodies. They were certain that the fight was over but I felt something was amiss. Initiate Reddin was celebrating our success by shooting in the air and screaming, totally ignoring Paladin Vargas's command, when all hell broke loose. The barriers on her left side exploded, launching her body several meters away. A giant super mutant was tramping towards us, I think I heard Vargas screamed "behemoth". Sarah, a proud commander second ago, was perplexed. She just stood there and stared at the behemoth. From the corner of my eyes, I spotted a dead brotherhood (his armor told me this) clutching a weapon that looked like a missile launcher, only bigger. It took all my strength to hold it still while aiming to the behemoth. Whatever the ammunition the weapon uses, it certainly is powerful because one hit in the chest was all it took to defeat the behemoth. I was flabbergasted briefly, until I realized that I was inches above the ground, swung from side to side. I looked down and saw a jubilant Vargas. Paladin Vargas put me down and scratched the back of his head with a grin that would make a Cheshire cat blush.

"Whoops, sorry! I was just.. ecstatic to be alive. I wouldn't be standing here if you re late by mere second. You have my sincerest gratitude." He bowed at me. I giggled. His gesture was too funny.  
"Well, it seemed like the only right thing to do at that moment. Hey, I'm sorry about Reddin." I saw his expression changed abruptly from joy to frustration.  
"Well, I am not. She was arrogant and habitually defies orders. I knew that someday, such conduct would kill her. I just don t want her colleagues to pay for her ineptness. I guess in a way that was good riddance. But she died in the line of duty, so she will now be known as Paladin Reddin for her courage." I noticed that the last word was spoken between gritted teeth. I nodded, unsure what to reply to the comment.  
"Come now, you will need some rest." He draped his hands casually at my shoulder and practically dragged me to the GNR building.

The other brotherhoods who were safeguarding inside the building had apparently witnessed theme-killing-behemoth-with-one-blow episode and from "outsider", I was promoted to "kid". Not bad. I spent the night in the GNR Building, sitting in a circle with Three Dogs and them. Well, they were sitting, but I was lying with my head on Paladin Vargas's lap. I didn't know how I ended up like that. The Knights of the Brotherhood each told me about their amazing adventures before they were recruited and subsequently posted here to guard the premises. In my *almost* drunken state, I didn't want to lose to these guys so I recounted my own adventures.

"You know, I have my own adventure to share. You see, I was raised in the Vault since I was a baby. It's a "since" because I wasn't actually born there, according to a shithead called Moriarty, who happened to know dad. Less than a month ago, I came out.."

"Whoa! No shit?" Knight Dillon interrupted. His eyes widened. I heard Knight Sergeant Wilks gasped.

"Why did you leave? What happened? I thought the vault was safe?" Knight Finley asked me.  
"Ah, I've met a vaulter once. Come to think of it, you looked just like him." Three Dogs mumbled. I laughed and dizzily, I tried to sit. Vargas helped me up and let me rest my back on him.

"Well the vaulter that our mister disc jockey here met was my dad. the other reason why I came to GNR, to ask about him. Other than the constant infestation of the Radroaches and undamaging troubles caused by a group of kids, the Vault was perfectly safe. Until Dad chose to leave it. Without even saying goodbye to me." I tried to conceal my sadness but my voice failed me. Vargas rubbed my left arms, in effort to calm me. I looked at the four respected guys in front of me, and they seemed to be listening intently.  
"The Overseer, the leader of the Vault, thought that I connived with Dad s leaving. He decreed that I was to be caught, dead or alive. I had no choice but to leave." Sympathy was painted clearly across each of their faces. "Now, the good parts. Brace yourselves, gentlemen." I grinned.

I retold them about my defusing of the bomb in Megaton, my saving Arefu and Grayditch, and Moira masochistic failed research. While the other gentlemen ooh d and aah d me, these were seemingly not news to Three Dogs, as Lucas Simms, Evan King and Crazy Wolfgang, a trader who passed by Grayditch had reported similar stories. He didn't believe them at first but had been considering to broadcast it anyway. Now that he met me, the infamous knight in shining armor as he put it, in person, presenting a part of the bomb verified by Vargas, Arefu's contract that Evan King had requested me to hold, and Fire Ants nectar, he will ensure that my epic saga will be heard across the Wasteland. He just didn't expect that the knight was a girl. I finally allowed him to broadcast my story after him begging, on one condition, that my name and gender will stay undisclosed. He agreed.

"So, let me understand this: while our qualified Paladin and Sentinel were too chickened to raise their weapons, you, who were only out here in less than a MONTH, were the one who killed the behemoth? Only one shot? With a Fatman no less? That's the bad-ass thing I've ever heard! Why, Leia, be careful now, for you must've wounded their pride too." Knight Sergeant Wilks said.

I turned to look at Vargas and snorted, "I killed a behemoth, they shouldn't be too hard to defeat." Knight Dillon nearly spurted his drink, while Knight Finley broke into laughter. Three Dogs chuckled and shook his head down.

Knight Sergeant Wilks gaped at me and said, "You know, no one dares to say anything like that to the brotherhood, especially Paladins. But you said it in our faces, when Vargas is less than an inch from you, our very _own _Paladin Vargas, who has a reputation for being ruthless. You really are something, kid." He said before downing his drink.

"Don't brag." said Paladin Vargas with a smile.

Three Dogs babbled about the Brotherhood fighting the Good Fight and it caught my attention. I wanted to contribute to this fight. So Three Dogs had requested me to retrieve communication relay dish from Virgo II Lunar Lander in the Museum of Technology and install it at the top of Washington Monument, because the GNR Radio signal didn't cover the entire Wasteland. I nodded in agreement, because Gob had always complained about it. Gob has been a good friend while I was in Megaton, listened patiently to my ranting and carried me back to my shack when I was too drunk to walk, so I wanted to do something for him. I wanted to do something for Gob in return so I promised Three Dogs that I would do it, without failing to mention that Gob, a best ghoul friend of mine, was an ardent supporter of him.

I must've been dozed off, because the next morning, I woke up with my back against Vargas, complete with a usual headache. I looked around and saw that the other Knights had already woken up and resumed their duty. I pulled out a stimpak from my pack and stabbed it in my neck to ease my pain. While I was putting on my armor, Vargas stirred, mumbling about something. Before leaving, I kissed the top of Vargas's head and said my goodbyes to my newfound friends, the Knights and Three Dogs. All of them hugged me and gave me some ammo, wishing me luck. I went to Sarah Lyons to say my adieu and she responded indifferently. She had been treating me badly since yesterday, as if I didn't just save her sorry ass. When I offered to stay and chat with us, she turned it down, said that as a Sentinel, she has a responsibility to her people and didn't have time to do worthless things, with an outsider all the more. I had a feeling that I should wait for the Behemoth to maul her before launching the mini nuke into its chest. Bitch.

* * *

Coming out alive from being cornered by triple amount of mutants and killing a behemoth merely with a single shot was definitely a booster to my confidence. Taking out the super mutants that dwelled in the Museum was somehow felt easier. I had only sustained several mild injuries but injecting stimpaks made me good as new. It was almost dark and I didn't feel like installing the relay dish that was strapped on my back. I roamed around The Mall and saw a ghoul waved at me.

"Hey, you're crazy to stand out here. Aren't you afraid of the Super Mutants?" I said once I approached her.  
"Well hello to you too. Super Mutants? Nah, they don t bother us ghouls, maybe they see us as kin or something. I don t know. Now, those other assholes.." She sighed.  
"Other assholes?" Now I was curious.  
"Yeah, you know. Those humans, like you. Well maybe not like you, I don t know, but humans all the same. The Brotherhood of Steel guys with their testosterones and power armor.. Those psycho Talon Company mercs. Those other assholes." Okay, so the polished armor's name was Power Armor. Why didn't I think to ask the Knights about that? Oh yes, because I was inebriated, that's why. About the Talon Company, I couldn t agree more.  
"Yeah they're asshole alright. I'm not even a ghoul but they antagonize me as well." I said grimly.

" Who, steel or Talon?" She looked shock momentarily the regained herself.  
"Talon. Some of the steels are okay." I remembered those guys inside the GNR Building.  
"Some of them, yeah. What is your business with Talon?"

" Let s just say I offended a man and he hired them to kill me." I wasn't in the mood to elaborate.  
"Okay.. So where are you going, tourist?"

"What? I am not a tourist."

" Come on! Here you are in the Mall of our nation's fine capital, taking in the sights, visiting the monuments. Face it, you're tourist." Do I smell sarcasm?

"Okay then, I am a tourist with an assault rifle strapped into my back and grenades on my waist. Hey, I just visited the Museum Of Technology and blew the mutants heads off because their services weren't t agreeable. Now I m tired and I need a place to crash." I said with a fake chirper tone. She barked a laugh.

"I like you, smoothskin. Go on in then, you can rent a bed in Carol s Place. By the way, I m Willow."

"Leia. Thanks. Anyway, it s nice to see a friendly face round here. See you later." I hugged her goodbye.  
"Till next time, sightseer." I heard her chuckled.


End file.
